Left and Center: Cesilia, circa 1976; Right: Age-progression to age 48 (circa 2010)

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: October 6, 1976 from Manhattan, New York

Classification: Non-Family Abduction

Date Of Birth: September 4, 1962

Age: 14 years old

Height and Weight: 4'9, 111 pounds

Distinguishing Characteristics: Hispanic female. Black hair, brown eyes. Cesilia has a scar on her left forearm.

Clothing/Jewelry Description: A parochial school uniform consisting of a light gray jacket, a gray plaid skirt and a white blouse.

Details of Disappearance

Cesilia was a student at St. Alphonsus Commercial High School in the New York City borough of lower Manhattan in 1976. Her family resided in the borough of the Bronx. Cesilia used the subway as her means of transportation to and from school. When returning home on her normal route, Cesilia took the Number Two Train at the 149th Street station in Manhattan. She would travel five stops down the line to her exit at the Simpson Street station in the Bronx. Cesilia took the Number 5 bus from that subway stop to her family's home every school day.

Cesilia was last seen by her friends at the 149th Street station between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. on October 6, 1976. She never arrived at her residence that day and has not been heard from again. A witness came forward several days after Cesilia initially vanished and told her family that she had seen Cesilia on October 6 after the final reported sighting. The witness stated that Cesilia was on the corner of 163rd Street and Southern Boulevard with a resident of the Bronx named Anthony Flores. Flores, whose nickname is Rudy, was holding Cesilia by her arm. Cesilia appeared frightened of him.

Flores claimed that he was not with Cesilia the day she vanished and that he had nothing to do with her case. He is also a suspect in the case of nine-year-old
Nelida Del Valle, who disappeared from Boston, Massachusetts in 1976. He has not been charged in either case, however. Flores is currently serving a prison sentence in New York for the abduction, rape and murder of woman and her young daughter. Cesilia has never been located.

Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
New York Police Department
646-610-6914